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[The4Time2Doctor0]

I just dropped him in my fantasy league too.

haha I did too. I think he's going to have a very good career in this league. the next 5 years are going to be very special watching him

[Kane3387]

Austin Rivers has fairly horrible so far. One of the worst players in the league.

Not even one of the worst players in the league playing regular minutes. One of the worst period. Most teams have useful players in the 13th-15th man slots than Rivers.

Not much reason for optimism. I expect this is the way it'll be for the rest of the season. Next year will tell more. About whether he is able to adapt or not.

Yeah it's one game and its about time. Hopefully he keeps it up but he seems like a horribly inefficient player.

[Edgar]

Fluke

this is professional basketball. a 20 year old kid didnt just fluke almost 30 points against established and more experienced pros.

green , gerald/. see

[LooseCannon]

this is professional basketball. a 20 year old kid didnt just fluke almost 30 points against established and more experienced pros.

The list of players 20 and under who scored 27 points or more in a game include Jonny Flynn, CJ Miles, Sebastian Telfair, and Marcus Williams.

[TripleOT]

IIRC, The Untouchable, Avery Bradley, was similarly clueless as a very young rookie. The difference here is the Hornets are (wisely)feeding Rivers minutes even though he isn't ready.

Rivers is shooting 39.5% from three. He shoots only 46% at the rim.  Is there a lot of doubt that he will be a better finisher when he gets stronger and more experienced?

Like most young players, Rivers is a disaster on non-threes/non-layups, at 24%.  Once he figures out his spots on the floor he'll be OK there too.

With his  handle, shooting stroke, and NBA pedigree, it will be a shock if Austin Rivers isn't at least a solid starter in the league.  I don't see how his slow start is a surprise to anyone who follows NBA basketball closely.   

Kobe Bryant shot 28% in November and December of his rookie year, with the same 30 TOs to only 15 assists.  (Austin has 60 assists).  Skinny, young SGs struggle their first time around the league.   

 

[lightspeed5]

I don't see how his slow start is a surprise to anyone who follows NBA basketball closely.   

Kobe Bryant shot 28% in November and December of his rookie year, with the same 30 TOs to only 15 assists.  (Austin has 60 assists).  Skinny, young SGs struggle their first time around the league.   

 

exactly. It seems noone understands that it takes time for a rookie to develop.

[MBz]

Wouldnt really call it a fluke, the kid has scoring potential and he can only really get better from here. Has he played great in the first 20 or so games.... no, but he hasnt been horrendous. His TO's have gone down quite a bit, but i think thats more of a case that they dont really run the offence through him anymore. I could see him averaging 10-12 points in his rookie year which is good considering he is still only what 20??

Nope, he can get worse.  Gerald Green had fantastic potential too. 

[TripleOT]

Wouldnt really call it a fluke, the kid has scoring potential and he can only really get better from here. Has he played great in the first 20 or so games.... no, but he hasnt been horrendous. His TO's have gone down quite a bit, but i think thats more of a case that they dont really run the offence through him anymore. I could see him averaging 10-12 points in his rookie year which is good considering he is still only what 20??

Nope, he can get worse.  Gerald Green had fantastic potential too.

In Green's defense, he battled back into the league and secured a 3/$9m contract from Indy. 

Look at Kobe's numbers at the beginning of his rookie year.  I expect Austin Rivers to get better as he goes around the league the second time. 

He's already trending upward - 15 ppg on 49% shooting his last seven games. 

[RJ87]

IIRC, The Untouchable, Avery Bradley, was similarly clueless as a very young rookie. The difference here is the Hornets are (wisely)feeding Rivers minutes even though he isn't ready.

Rivers is shooting 39.5% from three. He shoots only 46% at the rim.  Is there a lot of doubt that he will be a better finisher when he gets stronger and more experienced?

Like most young players, Rivers is a disaster on non-threes/non-layups, at 24%.  Once he figures out his spots on the floor he'll be OK there too.

With his  handle, shooting stroke, and NBA pedigree, it will be a shock if Austin Rivers isn't at least a solid starter in the league.  I don't see how his slow start is a surprise to anyone who follows NBA basketball closely.   

Kobe Bryant shot 28% in November and December of his rookie year, with the same 30 TOs to only 15 assists.  (Austin has 60 assists).  Skinny, young SGs struggle their first time around the league.   

 

Because casual NBA fans don't really grasp the concept of "developing talent". The thought process is that if a guy doesn't step on the floor his rookie season and be dominant, he clearly has no future.

Some players require more time than others, I think writing the guy off barely halfway through his rookie season is comical. Imagine if we did that with Avery Bradley - who looked absolutely lost when he first came into the league.

[Rondo2287]

IIRC, The Untouchable, Avery Bradley, was similarly clueless as a very young rookie. The difference here is the Hornets are (wisely)feeding Rivers minutes even though he isn't ready.

Rivers is shooting 39.5% from three. He shoots only 46% at the rim.  Is there a lot of doubt that he will be a better finisher when he gets stronger and more experienced?

Like most young players, Rivers is a disaster on non-threes/non-layups, at 24%.  Once he figures out his spots on the floor he'll be OK there too.

With his  handle, shooting stroke, and NBA pedigree, it will be a shock if Austin Rivers isn't at least a solid starter in the league.  I don't see how his slow start is a surprise to anyone who follows NBA basketball closely.   

Kobe Bryant shot 28% in November and December of his rookie year, with the same 30 TOs to only 15 assists.  (Austin has 60 assists).  Skinny, young SGs struggle their first time around the league.   

 

Because casual NBA fans don't really grasp the concept of "developing talent". The thought process is that if a guy doesn't step on the floor his rookie season and be dominant, he clearly has no future.

Some players require more time than others, I think writing the guy off barely halfway through his rookie season is comical. Imagine if we did that with Avery Bradley - who looked absolutely lost when he first came into the league.

Exactly, the kid is 19 years old.  I think most people knew he would be a bit of a project.  Look at a guy like Blair in SA, he was able to come in and contribute right away but he hasnt improved his game much at all.  He is what he is.

Rivers is a high upside kid.  If he had high upside and could contribute at a star level right away he would have gone higher than 10th.

[hpantazo]

Rivers barely got to play much college ball. I'm not sure what people expected him to do being thrown into a starting job in the NBA.

[clover]

Actually Austin is 20.  Kobe was 18 when he was a rookie and an All-Star by age 19.

[Who]

It's clear A.Rivers cannot function as an NBA two guard. He is too small and too much of a liability as a defender and as a rebounder.

His future will depend on his ability to adjust to the PG position.

[MBz]

It's clear A.Rivers cannot function as an NBA two guard. He is too small and too much of a liability as a defender and as a rebounder.

His future will depend on his ability to adjust to the PG position.

Agreed.  I could see him being a Monta Ellis guy, a guy who is going to score a lot, but shoot a lot to get there.  He'll get his stats but he's a guy I never want on my team.

[TripleOT]

It's clear A.Rivers cannot function as an NBA two guard. He is too small and too much of a liability as a defender and as a rebounder.

His future will depend on his ability to adjust to the PG position.

He's listed at 6'4" tall, the same height as Wade.  I do agree that  he has more of a future at PG, but I don't think it's out of the question that an athletic 6'4" who can bang threes and has a great handle can't play SG effectively. 

If anyone thinks they can correctly predict Austin Rivers' NBA future after looking at 20 or so games of statistics and watching him a few times, they're talking out of their ass.  Me included.